by Steve Collins, Staff Writer
Friday, January 29, 2010
Bus vs. rail feud erupts Mayor Stewart Pushes for the Busway System - The Bristol Press (bristolpress.com)
by Steve Collins, Staff Writer
by Steve Collins, Staff Writer
by Steve Collins, Staff Writer
One has to wonder if the Mayor of New Britain is not receiving support because he has an "R" associated with his name.
ReplyDeleteClearly the busway that is designed and ready to be built should be kept on track (pun intended).
During an era of trillion dollar debt is it wise to discard tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded design?
As we wait for the train service that is estimated to take 10 to 20 years to be completed will local mass transit commuters be expected to ride the antiquated buses currently running local service?
It seems like years since Don Defronzo and Tim O’Brien announced the funding to replace the current New Britain fleet of buses. Where are those buses?
The Nicastro brothers are looking out for Bristol and should not be faulted for that. However New Britain has a history of promised transportation projects that turned to pie in the sky (highway to nowhere).
During the week President Obama introduced the idea of bullet trains. Will these negate the Waterbury to Springfield proposal leaving us with another few decades of lost opportunity?
Will New Britain again ten to twenty years from now be left with a corridor to nowhere?
How many times are we going to abandon logical and workable ideas for these grand schemes that never pan out?
I don't want to be left pondering why I can't get to work while I ride the monorail around downtown, oh wait that was never built either!
While Bristol officials, including Mayor Art Ward and state Rep. Frank Nicastro, D-79th District, have lobbied for the renovation of the Pan Am Railways freight line that runs from Waterbury through Bristol, Plainville and New Britain to main line in Berlin, CT.
ReplyDeleteBut A local ally who has joined them is state Sen. Donald DeFronzo, D-New Britain, who said in December 2009 he is not convinced that people would use a busway between the Hardware City and Hartford.
Mayor Stewart has maintained that both methods of transportation should be pursued, both the busway and the railroad and by up grading the Pan Am Railways road bed by replacing ties, rails and other track materials plus using additional ballast to improve the existing railroad road bed to the level needed for safe passenger operation and use, plus signals up grading utilizing computer technology.